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“So, keep that date open.”
“I will. Thank you for thinking of inviting me.”
“Oh, I’m not just inviting you,” Vanessa’s chipper tone took on a serious edge. “I’ve decided that you, Lou, Phyllis, and Mary are all going to be my bridesmaids!”
Another ear-shattering scream pierced my ear, forcing me to pull the phone back or risk going deaf.
“I don’t know, Vanessa. I’ve been having some trouble recently with work and I’m kind of having to watch my pennies right now—”
“Don’t worry about the cost of anything!” Vanessa gleefully interrupted me. “My fiancé is paying for the whole thing. He’s loaded actually, so it’s only natural that he should foot the bill.”
The two of us continued to speak. Well, Vanessa continued to chat my ear off until I heard her shout at someone that she was coming and for them to ‘calm their tits’. With a promise to call me later with more details, she made several kissy noises before wishing meta-taand abruptly disconnected the call.
“What the hell was that?” I said to myself, my head spinning from the last few minutes. Right on cue, my phone rang again. Glancing down, I smiled seeing Lou’s name pop up.
“Hey,” I answered immediately.
“Did Vanessa just text you?” Lou demanded. Judging by the tranquil, Zen music playing softly behind her, she was at work and comfortably situated in the employee’s lounge.
“She called actually.”
“Man, what a bitch! The nerve of her just assuming that we’d be a part of her wedding party! I mean, how long has it been since you’ve talked to her? It’s been two years for me. In fact, if my memory serves, the last time that she and I spoke was when she ‘accidentally’ ran into us on the street when I came to visit you in Seattle. Back when you were still with the douche of the universe.” In an uncharacteristic move, Lou avoided using Phil’s name, knowing the topic was still sensitive, even though my feelings for him had dramatically changed.
“It does seem a little weird that she’d ask us. It’s not like we’re close anymore.”
“Could be a sentimental thing,” Lou observed. “Maybe she wants the people who have meant the most to her there to support her on her special day.”
“Possible, but knowing Vanessa, that doesn’t seem like something that she’d do. This feels more like... like she wants to do what she always does and rub it in our faces that she’s getting hitched and we’re still single.”
“I know,” Lou added. “But I am going to choose to give her the benefit of the doubt until I see otherwise. You should too. Although I can understand why if you’d want to decline.” My friend referred to my Roman experience and how my soulmate had slipped through my fingers.
“It’s alright. I’ll be alright. I can do this for her. I can make myself be happy for her. I mean, if things hadn’t turned out the way that they had with Luke, I’d hope she’d do the same for me.”
Lou replied with an amused snort. “We both know that Vanessa is never completely happy for anyone unless there’s something in it for her. She can’t help that she was born selfish.”
“But she was a good friend to us despite that, wasn’t she?” I briefly recalled the few times that Vanessa had actually been there when we’d needed her. She’d helped Lou find the courage to go to the police when our fellow classmate had gotten too handsy and tried to violate her in a way that no one should be violated. For me, Vanessa had held me, comforting me when I mistakenly thought that Phil was cheating on me. She’d been the one to uncover that he’d fallen victim to one of his older brother’s endless pranks. That his avoiding me had nothing to do with another woman, but had everything to do with the fact of waiting for his eyebrows to grow back in after his brother, Todd, had coated them with Nair.
“So, do you think you’ll do it?” Lou’s voice broke through my train of thought, abruptly bringing me back to the present.
“Probably, even though it falls really close to the day I have to close up shop.”
“A week,” Lou said knowingly.
Hearing her words was like a clock ticking away. The sound of an hourglass’s sands slipping downward, announcing that time was quickly running out.
“Hey?” Lou said, her loud, brash tone softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay, Lou.” I did my best to reassure her. “I’ve done everything I can. I just have to accept that the future I had planned for myself isn’t the one that I’m supposed to have.” There was no way that I could completely keep the despair from my own voice as we continued to speak.
“I know, and I hope you know that you don’t have to go through this alone. I’m here for you. Our friends are here for you. Your aunt Tuney and your cousin Rebecca are here for you. I mean, they wouldn’t have invited you to move to Fort Lauderdale if they weren’t completely supportive of you.” Lou was all-too happy to remind me of my father’s much older sister and her daughter that was twenty-plus years my senior.
“They only asked me to come live with them so that I can watch the house while they trek across the globe.” I tried to joke, but Lou was not having it.
“No, they asked you because they care about you, Ariel. Just like everybody else you know. Don’t think that we don’t. No matter what happens, I promise you that we will always have your back. That we’ll be there holding your hand while you decide what to do next.” Lou’s words never failed to comfort me, even as despair nipped violently at my heels.
Suddenly tired, I told Lou that I needed to go. That I had a few errands to run before I headed back to the store to make sure everything was running right.
Even though in six months it won’t matter. My brain was so kind to remind me.
